A Lonely Place to Sit
by marshmeg
Summary: Tag to Pyramid, Tony/Ziva Centric, newest update is tag to 'The Tell"
1. Chapter 1

**** A new story, quite unlike anything I have ever written. It's a tag to Pyramid (spoilers for season 8) and is Tony/Ziva centric. **This starts after the funeral but before meeting the new SecNav. Enjoy!**

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><p>Tony glanced around the dimly lit restaurant. A couple was chatting in one of the corner booths, a man sat by himself at one of the two seaters, and she was nursing a drink at the end of the bar. After the funeral, he decided to slowly make his way back to the Navy Yard to finish up some loose ends, it wasn't until he saw her car parked out front of the familiar watering hole that he decided to go in.<p>

"I saw you sneak away after the Mass." He mentioned upon slipping into the nearest bar stool to her right.

"Tony" Ziva said quietly

"No need to explain." Tony cut her off as he followed her gaze to the end of the bar where a middle-aged woman was tending bar; raising two fingers in the air he got her attention.

"What can I get you?"

"Another round for the lady, and you might as well make one for me too."

"I did not know you enjoyed Mojitos." Ziva turned to look at Tony. His suit from the funeral ruffled, obvious signs pointed to the fact that he had been running his hands through his hair, in as so many words he could be described a mess. So much unlike the Tony she was used to.

"It isn't every day you find your partner drinking by herself in a pathetic place of a bar either, new things are happening for Special Agent DiNozzo, I guess I can try new drinks."

At that moment the bartender placed new napkins in front of each of them, setting the two mojitos down, she realized she caught herself in an awkward exchange and slowly backed away from the situation.

Ziva nodded her approval in agreement with herself about not asking questions she did not need to be asked either. The two sat silently with each other, sipping their drinks faster than necessary. Four rounds and two bathroom breaks later they both visibly relaxed, their shoulders let go of some tension, their jackets no longer on, their lips no longer tight. They were getting drunk together.

"He left again." Ziva mumbled as she turned to look at her partner, he seemed to be particularly interested in stabbing a cherry at the bottom of his drink.

"Well isn't that what he does?"

"Yes, but that is why I left after Mass, to say good bye to him. He has a mission doing something he cannot tell me, in a place I cannot know."

"It sounds kind of mysterious if you ask me, it's like you're dating Bond, James Bond." Tony spoke in the familiar voice.

Ziva chose to ignore the movie reference and think about what Tony had said. At first, she believed her relationship with Ray to be perfect, his job allowed her to keep her privacy as well, something she quite enjoyed. Recently, the constant secrets were the exact opposite of what she was looking for in life.

Ziva shifted in her chair, but kept her eyes on Tony, reaching down into the pocket of her overcoat, she grasped her hands over the ring box, slowly pulled it out and set it between them. The movement caused Tony to turn toward her; he couldn't keep the disbelief off his face if he tried.

"He gave you a ring?" Tony croaked out as the sixth or seventh mojito threatened to spurt past his lips.

Ziva turned the box in her fingers and allowed the smooth velvet to tickle her senses. She couldn't decide if she liked Tony's reaction.

"I guess congratulations are in order." Tony's disappointment was written over his face, his forehead wrinkled, his eyes became a bit squinty, his uncomfortable humor making its presence known. "I'm happy for you and C.I. Ray" he managed to chime in.

Tony leaned in to give Ziva a friendly hug, the realization that this was not a normal thing to do between them went out the window 3 drinks ago. The hug was warm and inviting and lasted a couple of seconds too long. Neither of the two noticed. Tony quickly made eye contact with the bartender and ordered more drinks.

"So, when is the big day?"

"You never asked me if I said yes."

"You didn't say yes?" Tony displayed relief and shock in the same sentence.

"Open it"

Hesitantly, Tony reached for the small box between them; he ran his fingers over the top and set it in his left hand. The box creaked open revealing nothing but the silk that normally encased valuable jewels.

"It's empty?"

"You are a genius." Ziva replied to humor him…

"Well, it's not on your finger! No need to get snippy missy." Tony pointed his finger at her, the alcohol fully taking effect. "Is it being sized?"

Ziva took a long drink from her glass, willing the tears she didn't know she had to disappear. She didn't know if they were from relief or anger, or both. She reached for the box from Tony's hands and slipped it back into her jacket.

"There was nothing in the box when I opened it either."

"So just to be clear, he gave you an empty engagement ring box?"

"Yep."

"I'm sorry Ziva." Tony put his hand on her shoulder, nudging her to look at him. "A guy like that doesn't deserve a woman like you…you are…"

"Do not be sorry for me Tony. Ray explained it as a promise. A promise I am not sure I completely understand, but a promise none the less."

"Like a promise for a ring?"

"Yes, but then he left again, I am not sure how much I can take."

Tony took a moment to think about the past few days, weeks, hell the year. It had had its ups and downs, of that he was sure. He looked over to Ziva who was twirling her straw in her fingers, willing the glass to fill up by itself with not much luck. He couldn't tell if it was her relationship with Ray, the recent loss of a friend, or just the dam breaking in general, but he noticed her eyes well up and heard a sharp intake of breath. Ziva David was crying in front of him for the second time in 3 days. Was the world ending?

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><p><strong>Thank you for reading! Reviews are greatly appreciated, this has the potential to turn into something to take me into the season premiere, let me know what you think! <strong>

**-Megan**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Sorry it took so long! I hope you like it, reviews greatly appreciated. I will try to update quicker!**

**Disclaimer: I now own all 8 seasons on DVD, but unfortunately, not the show. Really. **

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><p>"It is okay, I'm okay." – Ziva mumbled as she turned to look at Tony. Tony stared at her with care and concern she had not recognized in his eyes in a long time. He looked truly shaken at the fact that she had lost her cool. "I do not know what is wrong with me." She dropped her head and maintained focus on her drink.<p>

"There is nothing wrong with you Ziva, it has been a rollercoaster for all of us, this case, Franks, rocky relationships…"

Ziva sat her drink down then, sweeping away the fact that alcohol may have some influence on hers and Tony's conversation and slowly rotated her barstool towards Tony, placing a hand on his shoulder near his neck. She thought about addressing Tony's comment, and then thought better of it. She replied, instead, with a simple "Thank You" and tapped his cheek in appreciation.

Tony leaned into her hand, closed his eyes and nodded. "It seems like it's one thing after another in this job, we never get a break, we never get a moment."

"We have a moment right now." Ziva added and raised her glass to his. "A moment…"

"I have a meeting with the new SecNav Monday morning."

Ziva leaned back in her chair and ran her fingers through her hair, closing her eyes to process what Tony had said and also what he was implying. "I would ask about what this is regarding, but I am sure you cannot tell me."

"I'm not exactly sure what we will be discussing, but Vance will be there, and the new SecNav of course, and I'm sure I can't even tell you what I just told you, but I wanted you to know, you know, in case anything hinky goes down in the next few weeks. You may not know the exact reason, but you can have your suspicions."

Ziva smiled at Tony's confession and decided to take it another level. It's odd how the alcohol always remind her after the fact that she may have said too much. "You should not have told me, you could lose you job, or worse, be sent to be one of those Agent Afloats again."

Tony turned his head, eyes wide, and bringing his hand to his chest. Mockingly he responded, "that hurt Ziva, you know where to hit me."

Ziva laughed softly. "I am just kidding, I do not think I could see you leave again, it was too painful to hear you complaining the two days I was home, I don't think I could last much longer than that."

"Lies! Lies! You would miss me." Tony jokingly pointed at her in mock surprise.

In all seriousness, Ziva placed her hand on Tony's knee and nodded. "I would miss you, and do not want to see you miserable on some boat in the middle."

"Ship."

"Okay ship, in the middle of the ocean, so you need to stop telling secrets."

"Can we do something fun?"

Ziva noticed the small twinkle in Tony's eye, "What do you have in mind?"

"Well since both of us have enough alcohol in our systems to be arrested for drunk driving twice, driving is out of the picture, I vote movie or laser tag."

Ziva rolled her eyes and turned to look at him. "Laser tag? Like that dorky thing McGee does with children?"

"Excellent point, but in his defense, it can be a lot of fun, but not tonight. I don't think I am all for running around and kicking your ass with a laser."

"Real lasers?"

"We will have to try it another time, when we are more equally matched." Tony winked and Ziva smiled back at him. Tony grabbed Ziva's hand, left a 50 on the table and pulled her out of the bar. "We will get a cab to my place, it's closer. What kind of movie were you thinking?"

"Something that will make us laugh."

"I think I have something in mind." Tony pulled her closer.

Ziva slipped a hand around his waist and leaned her head onto his shoulder. At this point she was just happy to have her mind off of work, off of Ray. She needed this, she would think about the consequences later, but a night with Tony sounded nice, and she was going to enjoy it.

Tony realized that just an hour earlier, Ziva had been crying but he had successfully put a smile on her face in the short time. He would deal with Ray later, what kind of guy gives a girl like Ziva an empty ring box?

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><p><strong>Thank you for reading and reviewing. <strong>

**3 Meg**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: This is a tag 9.02 Restless, and thus contains spoilers for the beginning of season 9. I somehow managed to morph my story to fit with the canon story line. Obviously, if you have not seen the episode, I'd hold off until then. I hope you like it, it was one of those stories that needed to be written. It wasn't going to stop brewing in my head until then. **

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><p>A soft tapping echoed throughout her quiet apartment. Visitors at this hour were uncommon, but not unheard of. Ziva lifted her blanket off her lap and threw her book on the end cushion. She was not surprised when Tony used his key she had given him "<em>for emergencies only<em>" to let himself in.

"I did not know you were stopping by tonight." Ziva mentioned as she rotated on the ball of her foot and fell back onto the couch.

Tony kicked off his shoes and plopped down on the other end, tugging the blanket to cover his lap. He lunged forward for the remote before Ziva's foot expertly stopped his further advances to operate the television.

"I was enjoying the quiet, you can listen to music if you would like, but no TV."

Tony nodded and settled back into the couch throwing his head back to rest on the oversized cushion.

"Do you want to join me for a night of mud wrestling spectatorship? I'd thought I'd let McGee use his tickets, do you think Gibbs would want to go, or he could ask Max. Never mind, stupid question."

A lasting smirk turned into a genuine smile when Ziva responded, " I would be honored to join you, I was quite fascinated by the description."

"Do you think you would want to participate?" Tony reached out and teasingly poked her.

"Maybe" Ziva nodded.

At this thought, Tony's imagination got the better of him.

"I'll let you think about that for awhile, I am going back to my book, let me know if and when you want to talk about why you really came over here."

Tony shifted to the side and closed his eyes. It had been months since the night of Franks funeral, was it 3, 4, Tony wasn't sure. A lot had happened in that time. After their drunken night together, Tony was unsure of where his relationship with Ziva stood. He knew they talked a lot and shared a lot, the contents of which still remained a bit fuzzy. He looked at that night as a chance to rant and complain, and take comfort in the fact that they had each other's backs.

This summer was where the details and his memory are not back just yet. Dr. Cranston did a lot of explaining to help him understand his predicament, to help him grasp the consequences of his actions. He wasn't sure if his own personal processing was all that complete. The logistics, the sequence of events, the players, while floating around up there somewhere, he's still not sure of the why or the who, and for that matter, who he_ is_ anymore. He does know one thing for sure, throughout it all, his team never stopped trying, though frustration levels were high, they were there, Ziva was still concerned, even if she had a funny way of showing it.

Ziva took solace in the fact that he was seeking some connection, she had begun to worry after the incident that he was closing himself off, trying to figure things out on his own. She watched him carefully; she could tell that whatever he had been through since they closed the case a few hours ago had caused him to seek her out. She wasn't particularly sure why, but decided, in the long run, that it was best to just be there, if only to be silent.

"I thought you were reading your book."

"How could possibly know what I am doing, your eyes are closed?"

"I can feel you staring at me, I have some spidey senses of my own you know."

"I was just wondering if you were okay." Ziva reached over and patted his knee "I know this summer has not been the nicest summer."

Tony locked eyes with her, "I don't think I've had a good summer in years, I was sent to live on a boat, I spent a summer looking for you, I trekked across the America's searching for Paloma, and now this. I just want to have a good summer. The last time I remotely had a good time during the summer was when Gibbs was gone, that was a good summer."

Ziva visibly stiffened at the mention of Somalia, but softened easily as a flood of memories washed over her. She had to agree that her first summer living in America was pretty great. She got to enjoy the DC area. Her and Tony spent their rare nights off watching movies and making dinner together.

"How was your summer? How was your trip to Central America?"

Ziva took a sip of her forgotten glass of merlot before responding, "It was rather uneventful, I think we were all a little worried about what was going on with you. Central America was short, but I got the advice I needed."

Tony nodded. She would tell him when she was ready to share.

"I have to spend some time with Tim, I have been too hard on him these past seven or eight years. He's a good guy, he doesn't deserve my abuse."

"What makes you think you have been abusing him?" Ziva questioned as she stretched her legs out onto the couch.

"Well you know, the McNicknames, when I joke about his dates, and of course his geekiness."

"Ahh, I see, well, I do not think it was all abuse, I think Tim sees a lot of it as a sign that you care about him, that you want to know about what's going on in his life."

"How nice of you to put a positive spin on it." Tony smiled and grabbed Ziva's foot that was touching his side and began massaging it. "Well I think I am going to start making it up to him, take him out to dinner, find a way to apologize, you know."

"Well I do not think Tim wants your pity, something simple will probably do." Ziva closed her eyes and moaned in appreciation; she had not had a good foot massage in a long time. "That feels amazing, where did you learn how to do that?"

"A man never shares secrets…ahhh…Ziva…stop."

Ziva used her other foot as a weapon to dig into his side.

"I'm not telling you, would you like your other foot to be pampered as well?" Tony winked and switched feet.

Ziva nodded in appreciation. They never really did need a lot of words to understand each other, and tonight was no different. Just partners enjoying the other's company. Their relationship still had a lot of layers that neither of them wanted peel back, but they were getting somewhere, and that's what was important.

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><p><strong>Thank you for reading and reviewing. I love hearing your thoughts, or even simple, "I loved it" or "What were you thinking?" <strong>

**Thank you,**

**- Meg**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: So this picks up right after Penelope's Papers. Obviously spoilers for that episode. Let me know what you think! I wish I owned NCIS because this would be the last scene of the episode if it were up to me. **

The elevator doors came to a close leaving Tony and Ziva to descend to the bottom floor in a peaceful silence. They shared a glance or two before the doors slid open to the lobby of NCIS. Ziva stepped out first and turned around.

"I wouldn't want to keep your date waiting."

"Date? Who said anything about a date?" Tony paused and then remembered their conversation from the squad room. "Tim just assumes I have a date, it is Friday." Tony smiled and winked at Ziva before holding the door open to the parking lot.

"So he was wrong in his assumptions, you're headed home then?"

"That's the plan, I'm thinking a few beers and maybe I'll catch a baseball game on the tube. What are you doing tonight Miss Ziva?"

"I was going to go home, maybe eat something, read my new book."

"No exciting plans then?"

"I was thinking about going to the farmer's market tomorrow, my fresh produce has been lacking."

"Would you like to join me for a few beers at my place? We could order a pizza. You come join me for pizza, and I'll even go to the farmer's market tomorrow."

"Who said I wanted, or needed company for tomorrow?" Ziva eyed Tony up and down. "I usually do those things alone anyway."

"Just thought it might be fun" Tony added sheepishly. "I could use a little fresh produce myself." Tony winked. "Come on, it could even be fun!"

With a little prodding, Ziva agreed. "Alright, I suppose it _could _be fun, although I am not really sure how."

"We can just relax, and enjoy ourselves, and pray that Gibbs doesn't call us tomorrow, wouldn't that be nice?"

Ziva nodded and turned on the ball of her feet, talking while she walked away. "I'll stop home to get some comfy clothes and be over in a few."

"Perfect, see you then." Tony threw his backpack over his shoulder and made his way to the other side of the parking lot.

"Do you need me to pick up anything?" Ziva shouted as she pulled out of her parking spot.

"Naa, I think we're good."

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><p>"Who are you rooting for?" Ziva mumbled through a bite of pizza.<p>

"Don't really care, just like to watch for the game." Tony answered as he settled in next to Ziva on the couch. He was ready to just kick off his shoes and forget about work, but everything was working against him. "I can't believe we have never had the honor of meeting Penny before, she is such a cool lady!"

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you have a little crush on McGee's grandmother Tony." Ziva laughed and poked Tony in the side.

"What? She is just so cool, so opinionated, I've never seen someone speak to Gibbs like that, she's feisty." Tony shockingly responded.

"She was quite the snipper-whapper."

"Whipper-snapper. Right? Usually the old ones say that about us."

"Noted. I've heard Abby mention her a time or two, I think Penny has even been bowling with the nuns with her before."

"Now that's something I'd like to see." Tony shifted and began searching for movies on the On Demand feature.

"I think I'm just going to stay here tonight, if that's alright."

"If I can tell McDate, that a girl actually stayed the night, you can do whatever you want." Tony smiled.

Two movies and a six pack later, Tony and Ziva had retired to his bed. Tony on the left and Ziva on the right, in all actuality they were both in the middle of the bed. Ziva rested her head on Tony's chest and he laid his arm gently around her shoulder. Just before they succumbed to the haze, Tony mumbled "You know when I said I couldn't live without you, I wasn't lying, right?" As he bent down, he lightly kissed her forehead.

"I know."

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><p><strong>I know it's short, but I hope you liked it! Please Review and tell me what you think, all reviews are very much appreciated!<strong>

**Thank you for reading!**

**Love, Meg**


	5. Chapter 5

**This is a tag to "Thirst", oddly enough it happens before the episode. I hope you like it:)**

**"Paella" **

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><p>"Tony could you check that cabinet for paprika, it's the final…" Ziva stopped mid sentence as she caught a glimpse of her partner swaying back and forth in the middle of the kitchen to the soft jazz music playing from speakers strategically placed throughout his apartment. Ziva attempted to grab onto his waist and move him to the side, but he successfully twirled her around and brought her close to his chest swaying the two of them from side to side.<p>

"I like it when you cook, you seem relaxed, like you don't have a million things to do with a million things on your mind." Tony quick stepped to the side and twirled her out and back into his chest, his hand resting lightly on her lower back.

Ziva looked up at him and smiled before attempting to turn out of his embrace and toward the cabinet she had set out for in the first place. "Cooking clears my mind, when a recipe is so engrained into your brain you do not have to think about the steps, it is nice. Are you going to pay attention, I am only going to let you watch once."

Tony quickly stepped aside to lean against the counter top. "To learn how to make your paella, I will do anything, you have my attention, scout's honor." Tony brought his hand to his forehead and saluted her.

"I am impressed with you pronunciation Tony, very good." Ziva lightly patted his chest and turned to continue seasoning the chicken.

They had come a long way since the day he found her miserable in the pub. He preferred to think of it as a chance to rebuild some of what they had had. His feelings for Ziva hadn't really changed the more he thought about it. He cared deeply for her and wanted her to be happy. He wondered, however, who was going to be that guy to make her happy. Sometimes, he thought, he might be up for the job. Sometimes, he thought, she might want him to be that guy. Before he could think of the circumstances surrounding their unusual predicament any further, Ziva snapped him from his thoughts with an unexpected request…

"Would you mind if we put on something a little more upbeat, paella is spicy, I think we need some music to match."

"Of course Ninja, anything in particular?"

Ziva shook her head no and Tony turned to his IPod scanning for something that fit her "paella", he could appreciate her desire for something a little more exciting, while the music was nice, he was sure it was going to put them both asleep, if only all the songs on the playlist were like the first and could make him want to sway along. They had just come off a long case and had made this "date" a while ago when Tony mentioned wanting a taste of the dish she made so well, it had been years since he tried it last. Finally they agreed that tonight was as good as any because planning something had been unsuccessful. Ziva left work and picked up any ingredients Tony didn't already have, which was a lot, and met him at his apartment around 9, it was now well after 10 and the meal was still being prepared. He remembered the destination being well worth the wait. Tony chose something he remembered Ziva liking on one of their car rides out to Norfolk and then made a beeline to the wine rack nestled in the corner.

"Red or white m'lady?"

Much to his surprise, Ziva appeared to be in her own little world of cooking and dancing, moving to the rhythm of the music, she lightly swayed her hips back and forth as she fit in the kitchen like a dancer to a stage. His eyes focused on her hips, he noted that she had great control; it was as if she could command her hips to match the beat of the song, and yet the rest of her body was doing its own thing. He realized he was staring, but didn't stop himself when he rested against wall and just watched. She was beautiful. He began to notice that feelings he had been trying to keep at bay were suddenly flooding his system. What were they doing? Were they building this friendship because they both wanted something more? He trusted her more than anyone in his life at this very moment.

Tony locked eyes with Ziva as she made a final turn and placed the paella in the oven. A devilish smile crossed her face as she had just caught him staring. He couldn't tell if it was because he was in trouble, or if that's what she had wanted him to see, he was leaning towards the latter. He looked down at his hands, a bottle of red in one and white in the other, and when he looked back up, Ziva's lips were inches from his, she grabbed the red from his one hand and reached around him for the glasses hanging above the rack, at the same time she brought her body closer to his, pressing up against him from his knees to his chest.

"Red will work, and if we run out, we'll drink the white too." She whispered in his ear. Tony leaned forward and inhaled the scent of her shampoo before realizing that she had already made her way back to the kitchen and was uncorking the bottle. He gave himself five seconds to gather his thoughts before joining her at the table.

"I'd like to make a toast," Tony took his glass and raised it toward the center to meet Ziva's, "here's to hoping Gibbs doesn't call us tonight, I'd like to sleep in tomorrow." Tony paused and thought about how to finish his toast, simply, he added, "And here's to us. Cheers"

"Cheers", Ziva clinked her glass and took a long sip of red liquid. "That is delicious, where did you buy that?"

"A vineyard a few years ago, we can check the label, I went on one of those wine tasting tours for a bachelor party." Tony realizing what he had just admitted quickly added, "It wasn't as lame as it sounds." Ziva snickered into her glass and mumbled something he didn't understand. Instead of pushing the confession further he decided to drop it and started talking about all the vineyards he had visited over the years. Occasionally, Ziva would chime in about one or two that she had heard of or had also visited. All the while, Tony was thinking of ways he could up the ante in their little game, of which Ziva seemed to be currently taking the lead. He just wasn't sure what to make of her behavior, but he was sure he wanted to take their relationship one more step in the positive direction. They had been staying at each other's places for weeks, sleeping in the same beds, buying each other breakfast, and even occasionally driving to work together. He wanted to take it slow and do it right, eventually he mentally patted himself on the back for actually taking whatever you could call their relationship, slowly, and promptly added something about a vacation his father dragged him on as a teenager so as to appear like he had been part of the conversation all along. Were they ready for something more?

The buzzing of the kitchen timer pulled him from his thoughts, all the while, Ziva had noticed his disinterest in the conversation and began studying his face, it didn't take a trained ninja assassin to know that she had been on his mind. It was the way he was staring at her when he didn't even notice, the way his hand had made its way across the table and had been slightly dancing across her fingertips. She took a deep breath and pushed away from the table to check the dish for its famous crusted bottom.

Ziva rifled through the drawers nearest to the oven for the oven mitts and came up empty. Suddenly, she felt Tony press into her back and reach above her into the cabinet. His weight pressed against her caused her cheeks to blush and the sudden realization that two, in fact, could tango. Damn she thought, he was most certainly onto her. She turned slowly around and Tony had placed a hand on either side her body, trapping her close to the counter. "Were you looking for these?" Tony brought the two oven mitts up high enough so she could see them and then returned them to the stovetop. "I think the paella still needs a few minutes"; he breathed into her ear and lightly brought his lips to press just along her neckline

"Tony," she murmured, "Are we ready for this?" Tony continued to run his hands along her waist and breathe in her the subtle lavender scents tickling his nostrils. When he realized what she had said he leaned back and locked eyes with her, "this isn't unexpected right?" Tony questioned. "No I don't think so." Ziva responded, "then we are ready, yes?" Ziva reached up and ran her hand through Tony's hair, letting it rest along his neck. "We're ready." Tony leaned forward and captured Ziva's lips with his own. She responded immediately, surprising herself. His mouth was warm and delicious, the feel of his lips much softer than she could have imagined. And she had imagined, quite a few times since the first time. He tasted hesitantly with his tongue, and Ziva opened her mouth with a low moan.

The buzzer filled their ears like a blood curdling scream, causing them to jump from one another. When Tony realized it was just the oven, he stepped forward and cupped Ziva's face in his hand, pressing another soft kiss to her lips. Ziva responded by hooking her finger into one of his belt loops and pulling him closer before turning expertly to grab the oven mitts and pull the paella from the rack. She was certain she'd have to be teaching him this recipe again. Especially if the result was similar.

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><p><strong>Happy Halloween! <strong>

**Please review, it is so appreciated to hear your thoughts!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: This is a tag to Devil's Triangle, taking place right after the episode ended. I know it's short but I still hope you like it...**

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><p><strong>Three Things<strong>

He heard the lock turn and the door open quietly; he followed her movements throughout the apartment. First, she kicked off her shoes and dropped her bag by the door. She hung her coat on the coat rack and then walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator; he assumed she was grabbing a bottle of water like she was known to do before coming to bed. He listened intently as it seemed she was shedding clothes and tiptoeing to his bedroom. He felt her kneel onto the bed and crawl up behind him in what felt like only her t-shirt and panties, "Are you awake?" she whispered softly.

Tony turned slowly from his position on his side and smiled up at her. She was on her side, propping herself up on her elbow. He was right in his assessment of her attire and it only fueled his excitement at their newly found comfort around each other. He pulled her on top of him and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. He could feel the tension drain from her body, "How was the paperwork?"

"It is always so much after you discharge your weapon." She rolled her eyes and he nodded in understanding.

"I never did tell you nice shot." he winked "at least we caught the guys."

She brought a finger to his lips and trailed it down his bare chest, "What will I have to do to get you to do the paperwork for me next time?" She wiggled down his body so her face was directly above his heart; she trailed her lips across his chest and then rested her head, listening attentively to the way his heart beat faster with every shift of her body.

"Well, my ninja, the theater down the street is showing classic movies all next week, any chance you could cook a few of my favorites for dinner and join me, work pending, for a few of said movies?"

"That's it? That is all I have to do to get you to do my paperwork?" Ziva pushed off his chest and locked eyes with him questioningly, "if I would have known that, we would have started this thing a long, long…" Tony laughed and successfully spun them around so he was pinning her to the bed, cradling her head in his hands, he stopped her from finishing her statement by kissing her throat and finally her lips where she hummed in appreciation.

"I guess I should have known that there are only three things to Anthony DiNozzo's heart. I do not know why I am acting so surprised." Ziva smiled and met his lips again in a warm and delicious kiss.

"What were those three things again?" Tony shifted to his side and used the pillow to prop himself next to her. His other hand was busy tracing his hand down her sides in small circles, he could feel the goose bumps erupt over her skin and he could tell she was deciding if she would share her discovery or not.

"Well," she said seductively as her voice dropped an octave, "there's the food" as her hand shot up and made the number one, "and then there's the movies…" she added another finger…

"And the third?" Tony watched as a slight blush swept over her cheeks

Ziva thought for a second and decided that changing the subject was the best course of action, "So what movies are we going to watch?" She smiled and hoped to distract him from the three things.

Tony sensed there was no use in figuring out the third thing, although he had his suspicions. He decided to indulge her in a monologue about the movies they could go see, starting first with Sabrina starring Bogie and Audrey and ending with Rear Window the Hitchcock classic. Before her eyes glazed over and sleep seemed like it was inevitable, he brought her into his chest, if he had said it once, he had said it a thousand times, he would always be amazed at how well she seemed to fit to his body, it was, as if, they were made for each other. Not that he would ever say something like that out loud, at this point in their relationship. But, he was certainly thinking it, and he sometimes got the feeling, when looking into her eyes, that she thought the same thing, that she felt the same way. Her eyes never shut up, after all.

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><p><strong>Reviews are greatly appreciated! I can't believe the alertsfavorites for this story, thank you all so much. Special shout out to Jade, who happily rattled off a list of movies Tony would want Ziva to watch!**

**- Meg**


	7. Chapter 7

**A very short tag to "The Tell"**

**Disclaimer: Obviously not mine, one could dream though**

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><p>He didn't expect her to accept his offer, in fact, he didn't expect her to accept both of his offers, but she did, and that made him happy. The first offer was to stay and help with shredding and redacting. Although it was probably given to Ziva from Vance for her to do alone, she seemed like she might need the company tonight, either way, he was helping, and they would get the task done twice as fast.<p>

The second offer was a mumbling invitation to join him for popcorn and a movie on his couch. He was impressed by her movie references during the case and he remembered to tell her so. She smiled softly and replied that after 7 years, his lessons were finally paying off.

He didn't expect her to eat half the pizza and drink three of the six beers either. He found himself grinning in delight at her obvious need to relax. He surprised himself when he realized she was not only relaxed but also relaxed with him, in his apartment and on his couch. He didn't expect her to yawn and stretch her entire body, which resulted in her moving closer to him. He really didn't expect to just give up on pretenses and mold her body into his so that were essentially "cuddling".

He didn't expect to fall asleep with her in his arms that night, but he did. What's the point of expecting something when the reality is better?


End file.
